Full Bottles and one sample *soon to be a full bottle purchase December 2017 La Belle Époque Les Courtisanes The Raven Combined Thoughts: These three gems all share something exceptional about them: they are all transporting and are mettle in a bottle (or vial) and can unlock your secret self (or reveal the unknown). Each also tells their own unique story to the wearer with a diversity of: warmth, coolness, floral, spice and amber. They might not be for everyone but I invite anyone to just see where these three beauties will lead you in memory, emotion, style and exploration into unfamiliar history (or legend). You may be surprised by the end of the day (or night) what you learn. One scent at a time: -This perfume I wish to formally introduce to the modern audience is one I can't stop reaching for (the full-size bottle is peacefully aging at the moment but the sample only has a few drops left) as it is floral sophistication at its finest. This is no childhood romp in the garden but a perfect scent passage to another time and place. One of my absolute favourites that is poise, romance and refinement gorgeously captured in a bottle (you can't help but hold your head high when you walk into a room with this powdery vision because ladies and gentlemen this is La Belle Époque by Alkemia Perfumes). Brava Alkemia! La Belle Époque: (Listed Notes: Jasmine Sambac, Tuberose, Iris, Rose, and Lily of the Valley blended with Plum, Apricot, Tahitian Vanilla, Blonde Amber, Bitter Almond, Oakmoss and Powdery Musk) What I'm hoping for: To experience a glimmer of the Gilded Age which this fragrance is said to be an ode to. I love how Alkemia describes perfumes in their catalogue, you're sure to find a time, a place or emotion that you want desperately to visit or become a part of your personal style. In the vial/bottle: FLORAL POWDER and RESIN that just harkens back to a splendid time of courtliness, swishing gowns, tipped hats and frivolous ventures. Applied: Class and distinction with the FLORAL, it is what you wished your skin smelled naturally like. Definitely a mature fragrance and is by no means a childhood romp in the garden, this is romantic and earthy with the RESIN which my skin seems to respond positively to. I'm faintly getting a fruit (APRICOT is my guess as it seems to really amp on my skin). I'm still "training my nose" but I'm getting a hint of VANILLA as well. This is not your everyday scent and it demands your best attire and adornments but also rewards you with confidence that lasts long after that final wisp of something special leaves you the next day. Words that come to mind: THE Mrs Astor's ball, classic romantic elegance, extravagant powdery floral, First Four Hundred, Ormolu One scent at a time: -This next fragrance loves to accompany me to work and is beautiful confidence in a bottle. Like all my favourites it does require some patient aging but this particular perfume has garnered the most compliments out of any in my oil collection and I must say it is well worth the wait to reveal something beyond irresistible and memorable. Too good to not share and deserves a special TREASURED/FEATURED label. Brava Alkemia! Les Courtisanes (Listed Notes: Pear, Peach Blossom, Apricot, Lychees, Nutmeg, White Amber, White Florals, and sweet Woods.) What I was hoping for and what called to me: This was another curious wandering around Alkemia's shelves of popular recommendations. My chemistry seems to warm toward gourmands so this also may work in my favor plus because of Alkemia I no longer fear amber and can put those horrible memories of sharp headaches from certain commercial spray nightmares behind me forever (never will I step foot in an over-marketed bath and scent store again). I'm ready to try anything but I must say I'm really excited about the nutmeg note listed (I can never have too many of those in my autumn cache.) In the vial/bottle: PEAR, AMBER, SWEETNESS but with WARMTH and a hit of SPICE- oh this is exquisite. There is a surprising empowering quality to it with a secret behind closed doors essence but something tells me it will need some aging which is okay I can wait (I think...well maybe after a couple more sniffs). Applied: *a few weeks later I took it out to the public and to one important work-related travel venture: This is a perfect scent for the end of summer into the colder snap of fall, I love this. The fruit pairs splendidly with the amber and I get that flourish of nutmeg that makes this a great autumn fragrance (summer warmth meets approaching golden harvest). I also get a warm vanilla note but it is not listed among the ones on the page (maybe oleander? I know I can smell vanilla and I was even asked one night if I had vanilla on.) This perfume pulses warmth on me as well and it smells so expensive but wears well with anything. A sure full bottle purchase and future article (more people need to try this). Words that come to mind: confidence in a bottle, keyhole secrets, empowering warmth, late summer into winter One scent at a time: -Last but certainly not least is one fragrance that is an entrancing beautifully wicked ode to everything black as black. It brings to mind lost traditions and that certain myths and legends could be true (albeit only slightly exaggerated to bring you closer to the fire and a travelling bard). The collection of spice, floral, leather and ink also skips into the mists of time and could be the haunting scent associated with favoured ghost stories and the ominous feeling of waiting nightly shadows and the unknown. If there ever was a perfect perfume for a real or imagined villainess this would be it. Too good to not share and deserves a special TREASURED/FEATURED label. Brava Alkemia! The Raven (Listed Notes: Ebony Heartwood, Black Amber, Piper Nigrum, Blackseed (habbatul barakah), Black Bengal Cardamon, Black Ink, Nigella (Black Coriander), Black Iris, Violet Leaves, and Leather (*animal-friendly)) What I was hoping for and what called to me: After losing all reason with Book of Shadows and All Hallow's Eve (October 2017), I found I really enjoy certain notes (or finally found perfumes that work with the particular notes that never agreed with me) and I went searching for something possibly similar in Alkemia's extensive library. The peppercorn, ink and various notes in The Raven seemed worth a try and suitable for this time of year. In the vial/bottle: I have no idea what I'm smelling but I love it! It's not one note but a collage of murkiness that conjures visions of dark haunted forests and forgotten practices. It's somehow GREEN-BLACK, I don't know how to explain it. Alkemia what majick have you unleashed? Applied: This is it, this is the scent I have been waiting for! It's the essence of every real and imagined villainess in history and legends. It's beauty, cunning, power and dangerous seduction. Oddly I still can't identify one note but I really get that GREEN-BLACK impression again with images of legendary Avalon then shifts to a mist swirled surrounded tower and then a lone piano playing but no one is in the room. This perfume certainly contains a labyrinth of secrets, stories and will definitely be a full bottle purchase. Words that come to mind: Midnight Vamp, late summer to spring, Villainess, black swan, she-wolf, Dark Queen alkemia.etsy.com Comments are closed.
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28th of January 2023) NOTES/COMBINATIONS and Stones CURRENTLY ON THE HUNT FOR: Naughty Licorice/Star Anise Cardamom Cardamom Cake with Roses Smoky Honey & Leather Leather and Florals Pomegranate Colder Tuberose scents Smoked Florals with Cinnamon and Honey Graham Cracker and Incense Double strand of Rose Quartz or Moonstones or Black Tourmaline Chainmaille Jewellery Houses of Fragrance and Interest on the Horizon (shops that contain such temptations): LurkerAndStrange Good Spirit Wolf Rapt In Maille ToadStoolSoaps DSH Perfume Baphomet&Co Harvest Moon Haven Granny Hootenanny's Shop
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